Tube strike threat grows

The threat of crippling strike action over a large section of the Tube, affecting hundreds of thousands of commuters, increased dramatically today.

Twenty-four-hour stoppages could now take place next month in the escalating dispute over maintenance workers sacked after more than 100 empty cans of beer and cider, plus an empty bottle of brandy, were found at their Farringdon mess room.

Ballot papers recommending a series of one-day strikes are today being sent to hundreds of key signal engineers and track workers. The RMT, largest of the Tube unions, is confident of a vote backing industrial action.

The ballot will take about two weeks to conduct. Once the result is declared the union is required by law to give seven days' notice of any industrial action. The strikes will affect all the sub-surface lines including the District, Circle, Metropolitan, and Hammersmith & City. The sacked staff worked for Metronet, the private sector consortium responsible for the lines.

Bobby Law, the RMT's London district secretary, said a further maintenance worker was sacked this week bringing the total dismissed to eight.

All were regular users of the Farringdon mess room. A total of 15 workers were questioned following the discovery of the empty cans of alcohol. Drug and alcohol tests on each proved negative. The union is demanding those sacked get their jobs back. All deny charges against them.

Metronet spokesman Paul Emberley said the charge against those sacked was not that they had been drinking but they were fully aware alcohol was being stored on the premises. This was also against the company's drugs and alcohol regulations.

Mr Emberley said: "They were aware that alcohol was stored on the premises and that is equally against the rules. We are not suggesting that they were drinking."

He said the union had offered to provide Metronet with evidence supporting those sacked. He said this had not yet been supplied but that pending its receipt the company had agreed to conduct further appeals. "If there is genuinely something new we will look at it."

Mr Law said the strike ballot was being ordered on two issues; unfair dismissal and alleged abuse of the disciplinary-procedure. He said: "There is not a shred of evidence to link any of those sacked with the cans."

Mr Law said: "We support the drug and alcohol policy as much as anyone but these sackings are wrong. Feeling is running very high over this - particular now that another worker has been dismissed."

He said the union had evidence that drunken members of the public had, on occasions, had to be removed from the mess room - said to be easily reached by a gate from the platform.

He added a further search of the cabin five days after the men were sacked found more beer cans in the rubbish bin. The previous weekend to the discovery, last year, the mess room had been used by "at least" 60 people.